Just announced:
Released on 23 April 2012
LIFEBOAT (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
Alfred Hitchcock’s only film for Fox, made at the height of WW2, stars a first-rate ensemble cast, led by grande dame of the stage Tallulah Bankhead, as the survivors of a Nazi attack set adrift on a lifeboat in the Atlantic Ocean, pitted against interpersonal animosities, creeping paranoia, and the captain of the Nazi sub that placed them in their current predicament…
Special Features:
New high-definition master, officially licensed from Twentieth Century Fox
New high-definition transfers of Hitchcock’s little-seen French-language 1944 wartime films, Bon voyage (26 minutes) and Aventure malgache (31 minutes) officially licensed from the British Film Institute
Optional English subtitles on all three films
20-minute documentary on the making of Lifeboat
12-minute excerpt from the legendary 1962 audio interviews between Hitchcock and François Truffaut, discussing Lifeboat and the wartime shorts
PLUS: A 36-page booklet featuring archival imagery alongside new writing by critics Bill Krohn, Arthur Mas, and Martial Pisani
UGETSU MONOGATARI (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
Mizoguchi’s intensely poetic tragedy consistently features on polls of the best films ever made. This new HD restoration is the film’s first appearance on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizouguchi’s 1951 classic OYÛ-SAMA.
Special Features:
Newly restored high-definition transfer of Ugetsu Monogatari
Mizoguchi’s Oyū-sama (also in 1080p on the Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles on both features
Tony Rayns video discussions of Ugetsu Monogatari [9:00] and Oyū-sama [13:00]
Original Japanese and Spanish theatrical trailers for Ugetsu Monogatari
Ugetsu Monogatari restoration demonstration
Illustrated booklet featuring rare archival imagery and award-winning translations of the 18th century Ueda Akinari stories adapted in Ugetsu Monogatari
SANSHO DAYU (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
One of the most critically revered films in Japanese cinema history, Mizoguchi’s deeply affecting classic has been newly restored in HD and appears here on Blu-ray for the first time anywhere in the world, and is accompanied by an HD presentation of Mizoguchi’s 1953 classic GION BAYASHI.
Special Features:
Newly restored high-definition transfer of Sanshō Dayū
Mizoguchi’s Gion Bayashi (also in 1080p on the Blu-ray)
Optional English subtitles on both features
Tony Rayns video discussion of Sanshō Dayū [29:00] and Gion Bayashi [11:00]
Original Japanese theatrical trailer for Sanshō Dayū and original Japanese theatrical teaser for Gion Bayashi
Before-and-after Sanshō Dayū restoration demonstration
Illustrated booklet featuring rare archival imagery and a full reprint of the 1915 Mori Ōgai story adapted in Sanshō Dayū
Released on 28 May 2012
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
For the first time in the UK, one of the most imaginative and nightmarish fantasies from Hollywood’s golden age of horror – starring the legendary Charles Laughton. Originally rejected by the BBFC, this first and best screen adaptation of H. G. Wells’ THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU, is one of Hollywood’s wildest pre-Code pictures.
Special Features:
New high-definition restoration of the uncut theatrical version, officially licensed from Universal Pictures
Newly created SDH subtitles on the feature for the deaf and hard of hearing
Uncompressed original monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
An exclusive video piece in which horror critic and historian Jonathan Rigby discusses the film and its source novel
Original theatrical trailer
More extras to be announced nearer the release date
A lavish booklet featuring rare production imagery, and more!
RUGGLES OF RED GAP (Masters of Cinema) DUAL FORMAT
The UK home viewing premiere of one of the finest films of Leo McCarey (MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) finds Charles Laughton in one of his greatest roles as a personal valet shipped off to America in the service of the brash and wealthy Egbert Floud (played, coincidentally enough, by Charlie Ruggles); a sophisticated comedy of rude manners ensues.
Special Features:
Beautiful new high-definition master, officially licensed from Universal Pictures
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Optional music and effects track
Ruggles on the Radio: three adaptations made for radio broadcast, all featuring Charles Laughton and Charlie Ruggles in a reprisal of their famous roles
Laughton reciting Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, originally released as a 78-rpm record in 1937.
PLUS: A booklet featuring rare archival imagery, and more!
Released on 25 June 2012
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler team up to create one of the greatest, and quintessential, films noirs of the studio era, a classic of the hard-boiled genre nominated for seven Oscars, and whose performances by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson have been leaving audiences breathless for almost 70 years. Now, exclusively restored by The Masters of Cinema Series for its first ever release on Blu-ray anywhere in the world.
Special Features:
Exclusive new high-definition restoration, officially licensed from Universal Pictures
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired
1950 Lux Radio Theater adaptation starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck
The original theatrical trailer
More extras to be announced nearer the release date!
PLUS: A 36-page booklet featuring rare articles, images, and more!
THE LOST WEEKEND (Masters of Cinema) BLU-RAY (STEELBOOK EDITION ALSO AVAILABLE)
An Academy-Award-winning (including Best Picture) triumph from the great Billy Wilder, with Ray Milland as a writer’s-block-ridden and booze-sodden author spiralling into a days’-long rock-bottom binge crafted by Wilder with expressionist fervour. This gorgeous Blu-ray edition is the first available anywhere in the world.
Special Features:
New high-definition master, officially licensed from Universal Pictures
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Exclusive new video introduction by director Alex Cox
The 1946 Screen Guild Theater radio adaptation of The Lost Weekend – starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman, and Frankie Faylen
The original theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring rare archival imagery, and more!
